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Genocide is Happening. We Cannot Look Away

Mar 14, 2016

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) spoke on the House floor today recognizing the genocide against Christians and other groups perpetrated by ISIL as well as the atrocities committed by the Assad regime in Syria.

“There are times in history we are ashamed of—times when people were faced with great evil and the world looked away.

“Cambodia’s communist regime massacred its people. Many in the world made excuses for them. Stalin purged Russians and starved the nation of Ukraine. He was praised by a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. The Jewish people of Europe were systematically murdered by Hitler. But the world was too afraid to see the truth. The scales were only lifted from their eyes when millions were already dead.

“At the time, people made excuses for their decisions to look away. They said the politics were too dicey. It wouldn’t be diplomatic. Or sometimes they couldn’t believe that such evil exists.

“Mr. Speaker, when we look back, those excuses don’t make sense. They don’t matter. What matters is that people were dying and the world didn’t notice. Evil does exist. But ignoring it or refusing to call it by its name does not make it go away.

“ISIL is murdering Christians. They are targeting people who share my faith—the faith of many people in this House—people who believe in Jesus Christ. And because of that belief, they are being marked for execution. ISIL is murdering and enslaving religious and ethnic minorities everywhere they gain power, and we know it.

“We know what they are doing, and if we don’t say it, we should be ashamed. ISIL is committing genocide. They are targeting non-Muslims—Christians, Yazidis, and more—and pushing them to extinction.

“But we also can’t ignore what else is happening in Syria. The Assad regime and its allies are indiscriminately killing on a breathtaking scale. Torture, rape, chemical weapons, barrel bombs, forced starvation. The Syrian regime is targeting civilians, and millions are suffering.

“The world cannot look away. The Obama Administration can’t dance around the question.

“Today, the House stands firmly to proclaim to the world that genocide is happening, that evil is real, and that it must be stopped. And we urge the Administration to join us.

“We must look at evil in the face and confront it, because if we do not wake up, more innocent blood will be shed.”